Demand for Utility Payment After Ten Years With No Bills
A California homeowner has not paid his waste management company's bills in ten years, but they have kept on providing services. Now they say that he must pay then $7,000 and that they will put a lien on his home if he does not pay. Can they really do that?
Re: Demand for Payment After Ten Years With No Bills
They can ask the customer to pay the entire ten years of past bills, and they may refuse to continue service to the tenant if he doesn't pay. However, there is a four year statute of limitations on contracts, so if they sue they can only go after the most recent four years of bills. They can impose a lien, but only for recent services.
If the homeowner has an alternative waste management company to use, he can switch to the new service while he negotiates with the service to which he owes money, and can try to negotiate a lower payoff, consider filing for bankruptcy, or do nothing and see what they do. If he wants or needs to use that specific service, he is going to have to work something out with them that will allow him to continue using their services, and they may stick to their guns.